Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 1, 2026
Postural Organization of Gait Initiation for Biomechanical Analysis Using Force Platform Recordings
Published on: July 26, 2022
Decreased Anticipatory Postural Adjustments During Gait Initiation Acutely Postconcussion
Thomas A Buckley1, Jessie R Oldham2, Barry A Munkasy3
1Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE; Interdisciplinary Program in Biomechanics and Movement Science, University of Delaware, Newark, DE.
Objective:
To investigate anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) during the transitional movement task of gait initiation (GI) in individuals acutely after a concussion.
Design:
Cohort study.
Setting:
University research center.
Participants:
A population-based sample of participants (N=84) divided into 2 equal groups of acutely postconcussion and healthy student athletes.
Intervention:
Participants were tested on 2 occasions: a preinjury baseline test and then the concussion group was retested acutely postconcussion and the healthy student athlete group again at a similar time. All participants completed 5 trials of GI on 4 forceplates.
Main Outcome Measures:
The dependent variables were the displacement and velocity of the center of pressure (COP) during the APA phase and initial step kinematics. Comparisons were made with a 2 (group) × 2 (time) repeated-measures analysis of variance.
Results:
There was a significant interaction for COP posterior displacement (P<.001) and lateral displacement (P<.001). Posteriorly, post hoc testing identified a significant reduction in the concussion group (pretest: 5.7±1.6cm; posttest: 2.6±2.1cm; P<.001), but no difference in the healthy student athlete group (pretest: 4.0±1.6cm; posttest: 4.0±2.5cm; P=.921). Laterally, post hoc testing identified a significant reduction in the concussion group (pretest: 5.8±2.1cm; posttest: 3.8±1.8cm; P<.001), but no difference in the healthy student athlete group (pretest: 5.0±2.5cm; posttest: 5.2±2.4cm; P=.485).
Conclusions:
The results of this study suggest difficulty in the planning and execution of GI acutely postconcussion, and posterior APA displacement and velocity are highly effective measures of impaired postural control. Finally, the APA phase is linked to the supplementary motor area, which suggests a supraspinal contribution to postconcussion impaired postural control.
